Cologne Noire Van Cleef & Arpels 2009

I have sniffed my way through my vial of Van Cleef & Arpels COLOGNE NOIRE, and I must say that my opinion of this fragrance has not deviated in the least from my initial whiff: this smells to me like a mainstream designer woody incense cologne. I am confused as to why this would be marketed in niche-esque or niche-oid packaging except for the obvious purpose of commanding a niche price.

I usually avoid commenting on such mundanities, but I am struck in this case by the similarity of COLOGNE NOIRE to several recent middling men's offerings. It's not overly masculine and could certainly be worn by women, if they wanted a simple woody incense scent. But that is the question. There is no complexity or development or depth to this fragrance: it's just incense and woodiness and the usual solvent suspects.

I would compare the quality of this composition to something in the D&G Anthology series. Needless to say, I will not be acquiring a bottle.